Harper’s Weekly – June 1, 1861

Harper's Weekly archives ^ | June 1, 1861

[Homer_J_Simpson]

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[Homer_J_Simpson]

Rutherford B. Hayes to Sardis Birchard, June 5, 1861 (“If the authorities at Columbus do not interfere, we are likely to get in our regiment.”)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2014/06/rutherford-b-hayes-to-sardis-birchard_4.html

Diary of William Howard Russell: June 5, 1861 (The economics of slavery and sugar production. Marvelous first-hand descriptions.)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2016/10/diary-of-william-howard-russell-june-5.html

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: June 5, 1861 (“There are rumors of a fight down at Pig’s Point to-day; and it is said our battery has torn the farthingale of the Harriet Lane pretty extensively.”)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2015/02/diary-of-john-beauchamp-jones-june-5.html

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Today’s posts:

Letter from Lincoln to Winfield Scott, reply #18
Elisha Hunt Rhodes, #19
Letter from George B. McClellan to Winfield Scott, #20
Links to 3 items from Civil War Notebook, #21

[BroJoeK]

As of "today" (June 3) Civil War has recorded eight minor engagements totaling about 145 casualties, plus unknown numbers of Baltimore civilians wounded.
Battle deaths so far: about 60.

Date	Engagement	Military Units	Losses	Victor
April 12-14	Fort Sumter, SC	Confederate artillery, Union garrison	None	CSA
April 15	Evacuation of Fort Sumter, SC	Union garrison	Two Union soldiers killed, four wounded by accidental explosion	N.A.
April 19	Baltimore Riots, MD	MA 6th, PA 26th vs secessionist crowd	4 Union soldiers killed, 12 civilians killed, hundreds wounded	USA
May 10	St. Louis Riots, MO	Union forces vs secessionist crowd	4 Union soldiers killed, 3 prisoners, 28 civilians killed	USA
May 18-19	Sewell's Point, VA	Union naval squadron vs Confederate shore artillery	10 total	inconclusive
May 29- June 1	Aquila Creek, VA	Union naval squadron vs Confederate shore artillery	10 total	inconclusive
June 1	Fairfax Court House, VA	detachments from CSA & USA armies	8 on each side, 1 each killed	inconclusive
June 3	Philippi, WVA	Union Dept of Ohio (McClellan), CSA infantry	Union 4, CSA 26 (killed or wounded)	USA

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from June 1 (reply #4).

Douglas Southall Freeman, Lee, an abridgement by Richard Harwell

[Homer_J_Simpson]

All for the Union: The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, edited by Robert Hunt Rhodes

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Mary Chesnut’s Diary, Edited by Isabella D. Martin and Myrta Lockett Avary

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Senator James W. Grimes to Senator William P. Fessenden, June 6, 1861 (Sen. Grimes – R-IA – believes that President Lincoln is acting unconstitutionally.)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2014/08/senator-james-w-grimes-to-senator_27.html

Diary of William Howard Russell: June 6, 1861 (Three mint juleps before breakfast to ward off fever, then more inspection of the Louisiana sugar planting culture.)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2016/10/diary-of-william-howard-russell-june-6.html

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: June 6, 1861 (“Our careless people think that valor alone will win the day. The Yankees desire, above all things, information of our condition and movements, of which they will take advantage. We must learn by dear-bought experience.”)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2015/02/diary-of-john-beauchamp-jones-june-6.html

Diary of Judith W. McGuire: June 6, 1861 (All quiet at Chantilly, near Manassas. Mrs. Lee is there, also. Confederate forces are gathering at Richmond.)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2014/12/diary-of-judith-w-mcguire-june-6-1861.html

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Today’s posts:

“Lee,” reply #24
Elisha Hunt Rhodes, #25
Mary Boykin Chesnut, #26
Links to 4 items from Civil War Notebook, #27

[Jim W N]

Hey Homer, I just finished that wonderful book on Lincoln that you’ve shown many times, “Lincoln” by David Herbert Donald.

Can you recommend a good, solid, well-informed book on General Grant? U.S. Grant is really fascinating to me especially during the Civil War.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

“Grant,” by Ron Chernow is the current popular favorite. It wasn’t out yet when I began my preparation, so I prefer “Grant,” by Jean Edward Smith. Those writers aren’t especially creative with their titles, are they?

[Jim W N]

Yeah, I ‘m not sure I trust popular culture books and authors because I don’t trust Left-leaning popular culture much at all.

Given that, are “Grant,” by Ron Chernow and “Grant,” by Jean Edward Smith still the two best good, solid, well-informed, not-Left-leaning books on Grant that you know of?

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Those are the only two I’ve read. Smith states up front that one of his aims was to rehabilitate Grant’s image of a drunken, corrupt politician who threw away his soldiers’ lives uselessly. He does that without sugarcoating the facts, I think. Chernow gets into the drinking in more detail, but just as a reporting of the results of his research, not vindictively. I didn’t notice any leftist agenda getting pushed by either author.

[Jim W N]

OK, thanks Homer.

Gotta another one. Any suggestions on a good book about the battles and strategies of the Civil War with maybe an emphasis on Grant?

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Not really. I go with the generalists, like Catton and Shelby Foote. Once upon a time I would have referred you to henkster or CougarGA7, but I haven’t heard from them in years.

[Jim W N]

One last one (I hope).

Any suggestions about a book on Andrew Jackson, who I suspect was a great man who I know almost nothing about?

[Homer_J_Simpson]

I got nuthin’

[Homer_J_Simpson]

All for the Union: The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, edited by Robert Hunt Rhodes

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Diary of Major Rutherford B. Hayes: June 7, 1861 (Hayes to be a Major in Col. Rosecrans’s regiment.)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2014/06/diary-of-major-rutherford-b-hayes-june.html

Charles Russell Lowell to Charles E. Perkins, June 7, 1861 (Why he will fight.)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2014/10/charles-russell-lowell-to-charles-e.html

Diary of William Howard Russell: June 7, 1861 (Russell provides a good summary of the war to date. His party enjoys a giant frog as a post-breakfast snack. The travails of a sugar planter in time of war.)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2016/10/diary-of-william-howard-russell-june-7.html

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: June 7, 1861 (President Davis has assigned an old acquaintance to a position in the War Dept. and War Sec. Walker isn’t happy.)

https://civilwarnotebook.blogspot.com/2015/02/diary-of-john-beauchamp-jones-june-7.html